ASA Symposium - Arkansas's Homerun: Major League Training in Hot Springs

The Arkansas State Archives will host a half-day symposium from 9 a.m. until noon at Historic Arkansas Museum on Saturday, Aug. 27.  The symposium’s theme, “Arkansas’s Homerun: Major League Training in Hot Springs,” will feature the screening of Larry Foley’s documentary, “The First Boys of Spring,” and a presentation by Don Duren, who will be speaking about his book, “Boiling Out at the Springs: A History of Major League Baseball Training at Hot Springs, Arkansas.”

The event is free to attend but registration is required. The deadline for registering will be Aug. 23, and registration is limited, so be sure to make reservations soon.  Check-in will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 27. Teachers can earn up to four professional development hours through attendance. 

The Arkansas State Archives, located in Little Rock, is the official state archives of Arkansas and maintains the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world.  The agency has two branch locations; the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Powhatan and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Washington.

For more information about the symposium or to register, contact us at events.archives@arkansas.gov or call us at 501-682-6900.

This event is funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - M.M. Hankins papers, SMC.8.17a

Masters M. Hankins (1857-1930) was a prominent Little Rock businessman. He served as secretary and treasurer of Southern Safe and Lock Company, and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. He was also the president of Lillard-Hankins Company that dealt with Pike Adding Machines, National Safes, and Edison Business Phonograph Company.

He married Juliette Churchill (1861-1941), daughter of General Thomas J. Churchill, granddaughter of Senator A.H. Sevier, and widow of Ralph L. Goodrich. They had no children. After he retired, he studied to become an Episcopal priest and was ordained in 1924. He was the assistant rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock, and the part-time rector at Episcopal Church of the Redeemer at Longport, New Jersey, during the summer. He died January 15, 1930, and is buried at Mount Holly Cemetery, Little Rock, Arkansas.

This collection contains correspondence from family members to M.M. Hankins, and a few bills.

• Correspondence (Reel MG00204)
  • 1907 November 29: Minnie, Sierra Madre, California, to "Buddie" [M.M. Hankins], Little Rock, Arkansas
  • 1907 December 8: Annie Steen, Columbia, Tennessee, to Uncle Buddie and Aunt JuJu Hankins, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • 1907 December 8: Wilbur Hankins, Redlands, California, to Papa Hankins, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • 1907 December 13: T.J. Clark, Van Buren, Arkansas, to M.M. Hankins, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • 1907 December 17: Carolyn, Columbia, Tennessee, to Uncle Buddie Hankins, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • 1907 December 17: Evelyn, Columbia, Tennessee, to Uncle Buddie Hankins, Little Rock, Arkansas
• Bills
  • 1907 August 31: Dashiell Brothers Druggists to T.J. Churchill
  • 1907 November 30: Pulaski Gas Light Company to Lillard and Hankins, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • 1907 November 30: Dashiell Brothers Druggists to M.M. Hankins
  • Undated: Collector's notice, Pulaski Gas Light Company to Lillard and Hankins

June/July 2016 Arkansas State Archives Newsletter

Look inside the June/July 2016 Issue of the Arkansas Archivist for these and other features

The ASA Unveils Historic State Auditors Book

Anyone who is a reality television junkie will be familiar with shows like Storage Wars where people bid sight unseen on the contents of storage units.  Many times the winner of the auction walks away with a significantly valuable item.  While not a part of the show, Phillip Palmer of Maumelle, Arkansas, stumbled upon a very important item when he purchased an interesting piece of Arkansas history from an antiques dealer.  It was a book recording the correspondence between the State Auditor’s office and other officials covering the period 1836 to 1879.

New Project Archivist at the ASA

This summer we are fortunate to have Danielle Butler working in our office as a Project Archivist.  She is working on an important project that will be of great interest to our readers, digitizing material regarding Japanese internment camps. Danielle Butler grew up in Austin, Texas, and then moved to Texarkana when she was in high school.  After high school, she attended Ouachita Baptist University where she completed her BA in History.  She then attended UALR and completed her MA in Public History.  

Black History Commission News

“African American Arts in Arkansas,” was the latest symposium sponsored by The Black History Commission of Arkansas and the Arkansas State Archives.  About 50 people attended the symposium on June 4 at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and took away a wealth of knowledge.  When asked what they took away from the event, Jeff Lewellen and Garland Taylor had interesting responses. 

From the Director

June and July were momentous ones for our agency.  On July 1, we transitioned from the Arkansas History Commission after 111 years to the Arkansas State Archives.  July 1 also found us moving from the administrative umbrella of Parks and Tourism to the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  We’d been aligned with Parks and Tourism since 1971, and our regional archives — the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives (NEARA) at Powhatan Historic State Park and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives (SARA) at  Historic Washington State Park — will continue to reside within those parks.  My staff and I are excited about the opportunities that this transfer presents to work more closely with our colleagues in the state museums and historic preservation, while at the same time glad that our relationship will continue with our friends in Arkansas State Parks.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Sallie Phillips Keller Papers, SMC.9.16

Sallie Phillips Keller, daughter of David B. and Ann Phillips of Jefferson County, Kentucky, was born in August, 1831. In 1852, she married Dr. James M. Keller (1832-1914), a native of Tuscumbia, Alabama, and a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky at Louisville. They had two children: Murray P. and James Irvin. They moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1857, where they resided until after the Civil War. While Dr. Keller was away during the war, serving first as a surgeon in the Confederate Army and then as the Medical Director of the Trans-Mississippi Department, Sallie stayed behind and established a hospital for the Confederate soldiers wounded during the war. When Memphis fell to the Federal troops, she was quite vocal of her dislike for them. They eventually exiled her and her two sons by transporting them outside the city and dumping them in a swamp along the Mississippi River. One of her slaves stayed with her and managed to take her and the two boys to her parent's home in Louisville, Kentucky, where she stayed for the remainder of the war.
After the Civil War ended, they returned to Memphis, where their home had been destroyed during Federal occupation. Dr. Keller served as Director of City Hospitals from 1865 to 1868. In 1868, they moved to Louisville, where Dr. Keller served as Professor of Surgery at the Kentucky School of Medicine and Louisvile Medical College. In 1877, they moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where Keller began a private practice. Sallie became involved in the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and helped to establish a chapter in Hot Springs. She served as Vice President of the Arkansas Division of the UDC and was honorary president of the national organization when she died April 8, 1906. A J.M. Keller chapter was established in Hot Springs as a memorial to both her and her husband's dedication to the Confederate cause.

This collection contains personal correspondence written to Sallie Phillips Keller, including a letter written by her niece, Helen Keller. The collection also includes correspondence, speeches, applications by Confederate veterans for the Cross of Honor, and other miscellaneous materials related to the Hot Springs chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

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• Correspondence (Reel MG00204)
  
  • 1833 November 24: David Keller, Belle Grove, to Alexander M. Keller, Lexington, Kentucky
  • 1860 September 5: Annie Chamby Ketchum, Memphis, Tennessee, to Reverend Lancaster
  • 1861 June 3: Andrew J. Keller, Fort Knight, Randolph, Tennessee, to Mrs. J.M. Keller
  • 1861 July 29: Andrew J. Keller, Fort Pillow, to Sarah P. Keller
  • 1861 December 20: Andrew [J. Keller], Columbus, Kentucky, to "Cousin Sallie"
  • 1862 April 14: Andrew [J. Keller], Camp near Corinth, Mississippi, to "Cousin"
  • 1862 April 25: Andrew [J. Keller], Camp near Corinth, Mississippi, to Dr. J.M. Keller
  • 1862 August 20: Mary Van Horn, New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mrs. Sallie P. Keller, Memphis, Tennessee
  • 1863 January 4: Maggie Chambers Keller, to "Cousin Sallie"
  • 1864 May 25: Andrew J. Keller, Grenada, Mississippi, to Sallie P. Keller, Memphis, Tennessee
  • 1865 August 13: Andrew J. Keller, Raleigh, Tennessee, to Sallie P. Keller, Memphis, Tennessee
  • 1866 May 20: Maggie C. Keller, to "Cousin"
  • 1866 October 21: Thornton and Coleman, to Dr. James Keller
  • 1868 September 29: J.M. Keller, Memphis, Tennessee, to "My Darling"
  • 1879 April 30: Edwin Bentley, Little Rock, Arkansas, to J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1884 December 24: John H. Rogers, Washington, District of Columbia, to Dr. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1885 January 9: John H. Rogers, Washington, District of Columbia, to Dr. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1885 February 19: John H. Rogers, Washington, District of Columbia, to Dr. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1886 June 1: James K. Jones, Washington, District of Columbia, to Dr. J.M. Keller
  • 1894 May 17: Helen Keller, Tuscumbia, Alabama, to "My dear Aunt Sallie"
  • 1895 May 18: C.W. Fry, Albert Pike Camp, United Confederate Veterans (UCV), Hot Springs, Arkansas, to certify J.M. Keller
  • 1896 November 8: C.A. Forney, Hope, Arkansas, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1896 June 28: Sister Seraphia, Nazareth Academy, Kentucky, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1898 March 17: Annie Bancroft, Washington, District of Columbia, to Mrs. J.M. Keller
  • 1898 July 10: C.P. Meriweather, Camp Thomas, Georgia, to Dr. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1898 September 1: Katie Cabell Currie, Dallas, Texas, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1898 September 9: Ellen A. Richardson, Boston, Massachusetts, to Dr. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1898 October 25: Sally P. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Mrs. Currie
  • 1898 October 25: J.C. Minor, Fort Logan Roots, to the Surgeon General of Arkansas
  • 1898 November 29: Mary F. Meares, Wilmington, North Carolina, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1899 January 3: Kate L. Hickman, Nashville, Tennessee, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1899 January 21: Cora P. Mallory, Brooklyn, New York, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1899 February 10: Susanna Phelps Gage, Ithaca, New York, to [Mrs. Keller]
  • 1899 May 15: Colonel John Harrell, to Mrs. S.P. Keller
  • 1901 May 2: Kate L. Hickman, Nashville, Tennessee, to Mrs. J.M. Keller
  • 1901 September 16: Corresponding Secretary, Arkansas Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Dardanelle, Arkansas, to Secretary, United Daughters of the Confederacy
  • 1901 October 4: Mrs. James M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Mrs. Beuachamp
  • 1902 March 17: Mrs. James M. Keller, [Hot Springs], to Adelia Dunovant
  • 1902 March 20: Cora G. Williams, Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Mrs. William M. Neal, Helena, Arkansas
  • 1902 May 12: Mrs. James M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Mary Fairfax Chilers
  • 1902 June 3: George G. and S.S. Vest, to Dr. and Mrs. J.M. Keller
  • 1902 July 11: Mrs. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Mrs. S. Thomas McCullough
  • 1902 July 17: Mrs. S. Thomas McCullough, Staunton, Virginia, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1902 October 4: Ed Porter Thompson, Frankfort, Kentucky, to Mrs. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1902 December 27: Mrs. B.E. Benton, Pine Bluff, to [Mrs. J.M. Keller]
  • 1903 April 5: Mrs. Genevieve F. Langtree Wilson, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Mrs. J.M. Keller
  • 1903 October 22: Kate L. Hickman, Nashville, Tennessee, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1904 January 28: Mary C. Darris, Nashville, Tennessee, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1904 May 9: Mrs. W.B. Van Horn, et al, to the Robert E. Lee Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy
  • 1904 June 13: J.H. Reynolds, Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Mrs. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • 1904 October 24: Katie Daffan, Ennis, Texas, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1904 November 19: Katie L. Hickman, Nashville, Tennessee, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1905 February 20: Mrs. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas, to General B.W. Green
  • 1905 February 28: L.E. Gabbett, Atlanta, Georgia, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1905 May 1: Mollie R. Macgill Rosenberg, Galveston, Texas, to Mrs. Keller
  • 1905 June 23: Horace Campbell, Edinberg, Virginia, to Mrs. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • Undated: Louisa McCord Smythe, Charleston, South Carolina, to Mrs. Keller
  • Undated: [?] to Dr. Keller
  • Undated: B.T. Hart, Spring Hill, to Mrs. Keller
  • Undated: J.M. Keller, Little Rock, to Mrs. J.M. Keller, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • Undated: [fragment]
  • Undated: [?], Mobile, Alabama, to [?]
  • Undated: Sue H. Walker, Fayetteville, Arkansas, to the Club Women of the State
  • Undated: Mrs. J.M. Keller, to United Daughters of the Confederacy
• Speeches
  
  • Nathaniel Hawthorn
  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • John Greenleaf Whittier
• Applications for Cross of Honor
  
  • B.F. Ballard
  • William H. Barry
  • W.H. Cockes
  • S. Disheroon
  • Nicholas Etchram
  • C.W. Fry
  • John H. Gaines
  • John Gocio
  • John W. Hall
  • John M. Harrell
  • G.W. Henry
  • George Kemp
  • R.C. Martin
  • Watts Martin
  • J.T. Morris
  • Charles Peyton
  • D.S. Ryan
  • Conley Sullivan
  • W.S. Williams
• Miscellaneous
  
  • 1861 February 9: Broadside, presentation of sword to Captain James Totten, for his handling of the Little Rock Arsenal crisis
  • 1878 September 3: Petition requesting Dr. Keller come to Memphis during the yellow fever epidemic
  • 1898 February 14: Stock certificate, State Confederate Soldiers' Monument, Mrs. J.M. Keller
  • 1898 June 25: Circular, George Washington Memorial Association
  • 1898 September 30: Report of J.O. Minor, Fort Logan Roots, Arkansas, to the Surgeon General, U.S. Army, Washington, District of Columbia, on Chicamauga National Park
  • 1901 December 20: Certificate of membership, Supreme Lodge Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy, Mary Armour
  • 1901 December 20: Certificate of membership, Supreme Lodge Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy, Dr. J.M. Keller
  • 1902 February 20: Ed Porter Thompson, Adjutant General's Office, State of Kentucky, to the Daughters of the Confederacy
  • Undated: Certificate of membership, Kentucky State Medical Society, J. Keller
  • Undated: Confederate soldier information blanks
  • Undated: Envelope addressed to Mrs. J.M. Keller with note written on outside to "My dear Mrs. Wassell"

July 2016 ASA Acquisitions and Accessions

ASA Books

The History and Genealogy of the First Settlers of Petit Jean Mountain, by Sam Koenig
The Social Life of DNA:  Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome, by Alondra Nelson
History for Genealogists:  Using Chronological Time Lines to Find and Understand Your Ancestors, by Judy Jacobson
Genealogy Perks and Pitfalls:  A Common Sense Approach, by Dale Crowell

NEARA Periodicals

The Cross County Era, Cross County Historical Society Newsletter, July 1974 – January 1976

SARA Periodicals

Clark County Historical Association Newsletter, March/April/May 2016
The Gems of Pike County, Arkansas Winter 2016, Volume 27, No. 1.

ASA Accessions

Secretary of State-Elections Division Records, 46 cu. ft.

State Board of Barbers Examiners Records, 10 cu. ft.

Albessie Thompson VHS Tapes, 4 tapes

Arkansas General Assembly Composite Photographs, 2003 and 2005

Lamar Bathhouse Stationary, Hot Springs National Park

"Re-Union Poem," by M.L. Brown

ALS.  John Gatling, Forrest City, AR, 1896

Peter and Aileen McWilliam Papers, 0.25 cu. ft.

Photo Postcard, "Conway at Night," n.d.

"A Soldier's Heart: From Philippines to Arkansas" Grant Project Report, 0.02 cu. ft.

El Dorado 5th Annual Juneteenth Festival Grant Project Report, 0.02 cu. ft.

Joycelyn Elders Coloring Book, 0.02 cu. ft.
"Seminary: The Undertold Story" Grant Progress Report, 0.02 cu. ft.

Dixie Knight Negatives, 0.02 cu. ft.

NEARA Event: “All We Need Is Love: War and Religion in Northeast Arkansas”

The Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives will host a symposium from 9:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, August 20 at the Male and Female Academy in Powhatan. The symposium’s theme, “All We Need Is Love: War and Religion in Northeast Arkansas,” will feature speakers Sister Laura Cathcart, Dr. R.J. Hampton, Edward Harthorn, and Dr. Daniel Spillman.

Topics include “Service, Sacrifice, and Supplications: From Simple Stories of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters Serving the Lord Through Ministries in Northeast Arkansas,” “The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Northeast Arkansas,” “Pushing Him Back Over the Pulpit: David Orr and Religious Conflict in Early Arkansas,” and “Holy War in the Delta: the Jonesboro Church Wars and American Fundamentalism in the Great Depression.”

The seminar is free to attend, but registration is required. The deadline for registering will be Aug. 17. Registration is limited, so be sure to make reservations soon.  Check-in will begin at 9 a.m. on August 20. Teachers can earn up to four professional development hours through attendance.  Lunch will be provided.

The Arkansas State Archives, located in Little Rock, is the official state archives of Arkansas and an agency under the Department of Arkansas Heritage. It maintains the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world.  The Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives is a branch of the Arkansas State Archives and is dedicated to collecting and preserving primary source materials that represent the unique history, culture and heritage of northeast Arkansas.  Located at 11 Seventh Street in Powhatan, NEARA has been open since 2011.

 For more information about the workshop or to register, contact us at northeast.archives@arkansas.gov or call us at 870-878-6521.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Sharp County Historical Society Meeting

At 2:00 on Sunday, July 24th, NEARA Archival Manager Dr. Lisa Perry will be presenting "Scandalous! Stories from the Davidsonville Court" at the Sharp County Historical Society meeting. The meeting will be held in the community room at First National Bank in Ash Flat.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Belitha Powell Papers, MS.000164

Belitha Powell was a noted Houston, Texas, physician who served as a surgeon and medical director for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was born May 3, 1832, in Berlin, Maryland, and died June 13, 1893, in Houston, Texas. As the son of a ship owner, he made several sea voyages to Central and South America before choosing to study medicine in Philadelphia. He received his degree in 1853 and moved to Monroe, Louisiana, during the height of a yellow fever epidemic. In 1857 he married the former Sallie E. Harvey of Louisiana and they had three daughters and one son.

Dr. Powell enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil War and became a major in the 4th Battalion, Louisiana Infantry. He was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department in late October 1862 and charged with overseeing all hospitals in this theater (Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, the Indian Territory, and Louisiana); he was also promoted to medical director for a large military hospital in Mount Lebanon, Louisiana.
When the war ended, Powell relocated his family to Houston, Texas, and established a new practice in the midst of another yellow fever epidemic. He also served as the surgeon for the Texas Central Railroad after its establishment in 1879. He retired in 1892, died a year later, and is buried in Houston's Glenwood Cemetery.

This collection contains Belitha Powell's Civil War diary together with biographical data and other material. The diary reflects his period of enlistment from May 21-October 26, 1862, during which time he was stationed at Camp Mercer, Georgia; Camp Van Dorn, Georgia (located near Savannah); Charleston, South Carolina; and James Island, South Carolina.

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• 1. Diary of Belitha Powell, Major, 4th Battalion, Louisiana Infantry, Confederate States Army, 1862 May 21-October 26
• 2. Biographical information, Belitha Powell
• 3. "The Campaign of Walker's Texas Division" by J.P. Blessington, 1875

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Midwife Reports, Division of Maternal and Child Health, Arkansas State Board of Health MS.000513

The Arkansas State Board of Health attempted to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates through health education and good health practices. In 1921, monies from the federal government became available to the State of Arkansas for child health programs. One of the first federally-funded programs, the Sheppard-Towner Act, provided funds to various state health departments. Maternal and child health programs were designed to provide mother and infant care, and reduce high mortality rates in areas where doctors were not available. Beginning in the 1920s, midwives were required to register their names, which would be listed in a directory of midwives from each county, and encouraged to obtain a permit. Midwives were responsible for reporting the number of births and deaths, and the causes of deaths of mothers and infants, to the Arkansas State Board of Health.

The collection includes directories of midwives, permits issued to midwives, and midwife reports.

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• I. Directories and permits
  
  • 1. Directory of Midwives, 1925-1943 (Box 1)
  • 2. Directory of Midwives, 1944
  • 3. Directory of Midwives, 1944-1947
  • 4. Permits issued, 1935
  • 5. Permits issued, 1936
  • 6. Permits issued, 1937-1938
  • 7. Permits issued, 1939
  • 8. Permits issued, 1940
• II. Permits and reports
  
  • 9. Permits issued, 1941 (Box 2)
  • 10. Permits issued, 1942
  • 11. Permits issued, 1943
  • 12. Permits issued, 1944
  • 13. Permits issued, 1945
  • 14. Permits issued, 1946
  • 15. Local registrars for vital records, circa 1930s
  • 16. Midwife reports, 1944
  • 17. Midwife reports, 1945
  • 18. Midwife reports, 1946
  • 19. Midwife pledge card